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Hello Again!

Just a quickie post, i forgot to include these pics with my LOTD, so here's a NOTD featuring Essie's Mesmerize:

Natural Light:

Artifical light:

Thats all folks!

 

Review: Maybelline SuperStay 24 hour Liquid Foundation

Hello Hello~

So i wanted to give my review of Maybelline's Superstay 24 hour liquid foundation, i think Diana (adorebeauty) did i review of this product before but im not sure...(Diana if you did could you drop a link in comments so i can link to your review? the more opinions the better i say ^_^)

So i purchased this product after i read a review on the makeupandbeautyblog.com (click here for the review), and the reviewer Khalia basically gave the product a big thumbs up. So after purchasing it and taking it for a full day's test driver here's my opinion:

Let's start with the negatives:

1). The first thing i noticed  is that they have 12 shades available, and they seem to have forgotten that people of color come in many shades. They have 5 shades for light skin, 5 for medium, and only have 2 shades for dark skin -_- So left with no choice i chose the darkest shade (cocoa) which was the closest match to me of the 2.

2). It does not have a pump. This means you have to pour out the product:

I prefer a pump or a product in a tube which keeps things cleaner. Also it was alittle hard to get the product out; it took some careful banging on the bottle to get it out.

3). I think it made me produce more oil. Let me explain: Right now the weather is flip flopping but it was cold today. Usually on a day like this i have to worry about dry skin but around midday i had to blot and reapply powder to my T zone as it was super shiny. And when i got home my whole face was shiny

4). Products claims "no transfer" meaning it will not rub off onto your clothes or whatever. This is not entirely true as i constantly touched my face throughout the day and there was some transfer. Minimal amount but it happend.

The positives:

1). The product does not have a scent to it (any that i could detect anyway).

2). It went on very smoothly and was easy to apply.

3). It seems to match my complexion very well.

4). Though the product does not hold up to it's "no transfer" claim, the amount transferred was minimal which is great because i hate getting foundation all over the place.

Here's a quick spot test, i applied alittle foundation on the back of my hand and waitied 30 seconds then wiped with a paper towel:

Not bad for after 30 seconds, and i wiped firmly.

Here's a pic of my face at 9am (ignore the time stamp i set it wrong)

Here's a pic at around 5:30pm (different lighting, sorry it was dark out already):

Greasy looking no? not an oil slick but remember i had reapplied powder a couple of hours before this. It probably would've been worse if i hadn't.

Also for color match comparison, in the pic below the right 1/2 of my face still has foundation, the left 1/2 of face i removed the foundation with Pond's cold cream:

I can see the slight line dividing the clean side from foundation side. Also to me, the clean side looks less greasy.

And one last comparsion, Bare face me( not even moisturizer!) on the left and made face me on the right, side by side comparison:

 

Summary:

Color Match: Matched my complexion very well altough i think as the day went by though it seemed to take a darker tone. Might just be me, but it seemed that way

Application: applies very smoothly and evenly. I used a foundation brush to apply it.

Staying power: well i didn't wear it for 24hr's but from 9am to 5:30pm it stayed on very well so it gets a thumbs up for that.

Transfer?: The bottle boldly claims no transfer but there was some transfer, very slight but it did happen. Also as i got oiler through the day more product came off on my hand BUT it wasn't that bad.

Price: $11.59 @ CVS

Overall rating: 7/10

i would've given it a 8.5 but the fact that it made me greasy took away points. I have not been that greasy looking since summer time so i do think it's this product that caused the oiliness. Also i used loose powder to set it, not alot but i had to reapply midday. I prefer products that once done, do not have to be touched up throughout the day (lipgloss is only exception).

Would i buy again? Yes i would, even though it made me greasy it is the best drugstore foundation i have found right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's my obsession...

So the other day i was cleaning my room and i decided to go through my beauty stash box. Basically it's a box in my closet i throw all my stuff in while i am using up my current items. Here's what my box looks like (warning: it's messy!):

 

AAHHHH! mess mess mess lol.I actually just bought a storage unit from Target so the box will be retired soon and i will organize my stuff.

Since i usually just dump stuff in the box it has been awhile since i have actually gone through it to see what's in  there. Well needless to say there's alot of miscellaneous things (combs, hairbands, hair clips, razors, cotton pads, hair spray etc) but the one thing that i kept running into was body cream. I have soo many int here it's ridiculous. Just to show you some of them:

Alot right?? This doesn't include the body oil, cocoa butter body lotion and baby lotion bottles which are currently in use, or the 2 creams that i just ordered yesterday -_-  Safe to say i am currenly on a body lotion/cream ban. I need to use some of these up so they don't go to waste.

So ladies, tell me, do you own multiple creams and lotions? and if you have any that you would like to recommend (for when i'm off my ban of course ;) ) then please do!

 

Clothing Haul *pic heavy*

You have to fogrive me, the lighting in my room is reeeeally bad. They only time i spend in my room is to sleep and once in a blue read (usually during the day so i open the curtains). I also took these photos at night so they will be kinda dark.

I have a very basic fashion sense, alot of neutrals and laid back clothing that is comfortable. My big thing right now is long sweaters/sweater coats and hoodies as it is the winter time and i usually freeze in the winter (my mother says i might be anemic, i think she is just trying to find an excuse to make me take some nasty pills :P). The one place where i experiment usually is jewelry and bags, which i LOVE. I will buy jewlery and bags in all types of shapes and funky colors and i use them to punch up my outfits. I didn't get any jewelry this round but i did get 2 bags so i am satisfied. So without any further ado, here goes my haul!

Ok so i bought 2 new bags from Old Navy, they were between $20-30 each (can't remember the exact price sorry)

I haven't used the blue one yet (evidenced by the wrappings still on it) but i have used the neutral stone(?) colored one everyday for the last 2 weeks. It's an over the arm bag but it also has a shoulder strap which isn't detachable.

 

A sweater coat:

It's nice and warm and has little pockets which you can't see.It also button up all the way up the neck and it has a funnel neck which you can leave unbuttoned for a wide collar.

A tied waist sweater coat:

This looks alot more grey then it is. It's actually different shades of brown with a slight undertone of grey.

Another sweater coat:

Just a sweater coat in white with chunk big buttons on it.

And a jacquard babydoll sleeveless shirt, you can't see it very well but it has a flower pattern in gold

Here's an upclose view of the neckline:

I bought this for our company dinner next week. i am thinking of wearing a brown wrap sweater and black jeans with it. We will see how that works out.

 

This shift dress is actually from the maternity section, but it isn't stretchy or anything:

Ok this looks like i pulled it from off the floor somewhere lol but it was on my bed...it probably would've been better off on my floor lolol. It's a stone color and like i said it isn't stretchy or anything, it just looked like a regular dress. It was on sale for $14 though so i said who cares if its maternity!

A closeup of the print on the front of the dress:

Very nice detailing i think.

 

And a casual top with some pretty detailing

:

Closer look of the details:

I love it, it's a nice way of dressing up a plain white tee and save me from having to bother with jewelry :P

 

And last but not least, this is my favorite buy because i have been looking for a vest like this for a long time:

LOVE IT! i wish they had the navy blue, it was sold out by the time i found this but i like the red as well. nice way of adding a punch of color in my overly neutral palette.

 

Are you still awake after all that?? lolol. Well if you are thanks for sticking through it :) and i hoep i didn't bore you too much. I also got very distracted somehow and i will be doing a post that is not technically a room tour but just random spots/things in my room that i think are interesting. It will probably be a tag type of post. We will see.

Anyway bye for now~

Essie Nail Polish + E.L.F. Brushes Haul

Hey guys! long time no post ^_^

So obviously i have my new camera (yay!!) and i love it! I bought the canon SD1200 IS and i love that it has an auto focus feature which saves me lots of time and headache. And it is soo small! its literally the size of a deck of cards as promised. My new love :)

Anyway, enough of the camera rave and on to my Essie Haul. I purchased a few polishes from the 2009 fall & winter collections, and a few i have had my eye on for awhile. I must say Essie is my all time favortie nail polish brand. They truly have some of the best colors, and 1 coat is usually enough to get the job done and display the colors in their true glory.

I wanted to show you how they package the polishes, this is the actual box they ship it in:

See, isnt that a great way to display the product? and no unwrapping or unboxing for me to do (yes i'm that lazy lol) and you can also keep it as a storage box for the polishes.

Here's the unboxed polishes:

L to R: Angora Cardi (fall 09), mesmerize, Mint Candy Apple (winter 09), Midnight Cami (fall 09), Status Symbol, Mink Muffs (Fall 09)

And swatches:

 

Also just a close up on midnight cami cause it almost appears black in above swatch but it is really a deep blue color:

See? very pretty color indeed.

Now on to the E.L.F brushes. I bought the E.L.F studio brush set and you get 11 brushes for $30. They come in a very nice & sleek black brush case:

In the set you get: eyeshadow C brush, complexion brush, small smudge brush, small precision brush, fan brush, concealer brush, powder brush, Angled foundation brush, Small angled brush, Blush brush, contour brush.

Ladies these brushes are phenomenal! They feel soo soft and there isn't any shedding so far ( i used the foundation brush, powder brush and the 'buki -see below- so far). And you get such a variety for $30 it's crazy. If your like me and cant' see yourself spending $10-$20 on a brush that your not sure how much you'd use or not sure if you really need (personally speaking i'm talking about the fan brush) then this set is a great way to get all the various brushes you may have wanted to try but weren't willing to spend the money on.

And of course i had to get the kabuki brush cause i love and collect buki's (its not part of the set, it costs $5):

So very soft, i couldnt stop touching it. There was alittle shedding but far less then the dreaded essence of beauty brush -_-

So thats it for this lil haul, i have my avon haul coming up and i also have a review on maybelline 24hr stay foundation, a clothing haul and a drugstore haul.

have a great weekend!

*edited to correct the fact that the E.L.F. Brushes are fromt he Studio line not the professional line*

Also i guess with the FTC guidelines i am supposed to say "i did not receive these items as a gift, i purchased them all on my own". I guess i did that right :/

 

 

Review: Neutrogena Healthy Defense Moisturizer SPF45

I know it has been a long long time since i posted, but since my camera broke i have been feeling somewhat lazy~. BUT since Black Friday is only a week away and i wil be picking up a camera then i have no excuse to continue my laziness and i decided to do some "easy" posts until i get my camera. I don't like to call them easy posts but basically they are posts that i can do without taking pics so easy is the best word i can think of.

Anyhoo on to the review; I recently purchased Neutrogena Healthy Defense moisturizer SPF45,

it is available in tinted and untinted formulas, i bought the untinted because usually tinted is not dark enough for my complexion. The first thing i thought when i saw the tube was "this looks like a sunscreen product". I prefer pump bottles to tubes and jars when it comes to my morning moisturizer just because i am usually in a rush and i know 2 pumps covers my whole face nicely. When i squeezed the product out the first thing i noticed was the texture and smell. Definitely feels like the texture of sunscreen, and a couple of seconds later the smell reconfirmed that thought. I personally do not like the smell of suncscreen, it smells like chemicals to me and although it is not a offputting smell i just dont like it. So i went ahead and applied it to my face, and let me tell you, i seriously think that this product is nothing more then Neutrogena's sunscreen product but in different packaging. It did not feel moisturizing to me the way a moisturizer should feel. I felt like i was applying sunscreen. You know how sunscreen goes on and it's not sticky but it doesn't moisturize even though it absorbs into the skin and disappears? Thats how this felt. I was very disappointed and i had to add baby lotion on top of it so my face could feel moisturized they way i wanted it to.

Packaging: 2/5 ( note: i am biased against it because i prefer pump bottles)

Performance: 2/5 I felt protected from the sun however it did not feel very moisturizing.

Cost: 1/5 - This product cost $12.99. The neutrogena sunscreen is $3 cheaper at $9.99 and they feel like the same product. Plus the Neutrogena sunscreen can be used on the face as well as body.

Overall Product Grade: 2/5

Drugstore Revlon Haul

So CVS was having bogo (get one free!) on Revlon products and of course me being my usual self i had to make some purchases and justify it as a can't miss oppurtunity :)

 

So here's everything i got, (random nail file as well) not too much but some items that i had been curious about and used this oppurtunity to indulge in.

Starting with the eyeshadows:

L-R i got the 12hr color stay eye palette in the purples, (I havent tried it yet but i will do a review when i do.) and the matte shadows in green and brown.

 

Next up:

Colorstay mineral finishing powder in Sunkiss. GOREGOUS color i love it. Feels nice and soft too. It's and all over face powder but it is shimmery so i think it's best for just dusting on places you want to brighten up for a "sunkissed" glow (i.e. forehead, cheeks, chin).

 

I forgot to take closeup pics of the Colorstay mineral lipglazes but i did swatch them, they are pretty nude colors

Very soft, not sticky at all. top: #500 lasting shimmer, bottom: #510 Forever fig

And last but not least, nail polishes:

L-R: Hushed Blush, Silver Screen, Plum Seduction, Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat

And of course i forgot to buy what i had originally gone into CVS for, and spent all my money on Revlon (about $70 total, thats with the get 1 free). I originally was going to buy moisturizer for my face. I ended up buying my day cream, and one of my fave multitasking products:

Since i was broke as a joke, i bought the baby lotion for like $5-6 as a substitute for my night cream which runs $15. Baby lotion works just as well and i can also use it as a body cream so its a win win situation. Plus look how much bigger it is then the day cream! lordy. The day cream was $15.

 

i did go over the top, i went in planning on spending maybe $30 and i spent a little over $100. *sigh* But i think i picked up some good things so of course it's worth it in the end ^_^

Thanks for reading!